Special report: Overtime costs soar as Nashville police assume bigger role in securing special events (https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/investigations/2018/04/03/nashville-police-overtime-costs-soar-assume-bigger-role-securing-entertainment-events/446974002/)

[...]

Police department overtime jumped from $6.1 million in fiscal year 2014 to $9.1 million in fiscal year 2017.

Nearly all of the increase can be attributed to officers working special events, often privately run but with security work performed by police on overtime duty. Sounds and Titans games, which draw tens of thousands of people, count as special events. So do the Angus Beef Street Party, Oktoberfest and a birthday bash for downtown honky-tonk Tootsie's.

[...]

Take the Nashville Pride Festival. For years, organizers contracted with a private security firm that hired off-duty police to provide armed security. Armed security at the Pride festival is now staffed solely by Metro officers.

Comprehensive Security's owner, Loyd Poteete, said he had previously provided security at the Pride event for about $20,000. Records for the 2017 event showed that police spent $52,000 in overtime.

[...]

For years, private firms would provide security for special events and venues in Nashville. The greedy Nashville PD, in collusion with corrupt city officials, responded in two ways.

First, the Nashville PD would offer their services to event organizers at a lower rate than their private competitors, causing the private firms to lose the contract. But the Nashville PD would make up the difference by charging the city (taxpayers) for lavish overtime pay.

Secondly, the Nashville PD convinced corrupt city officials to pass a law prohibiting off-duty police officers from working for private security firms. The reason for this is simple: In Nashville, only trained police officers are legally allowed to direct traffic at special events. So if a firm cannot hire off-duty police, then they cannot get a contract for most of the biggest events in Nashville. The only option left to event organizers is to hire the Nashville PD.

As the article notes, some of these officers are collecting salaries in excess of $100,000 a year. This is outrageously excessive. By comparison, a US Marine patrolling the streets of Baghdad or Kabul could expect to make about $20,000 to $30,000 a year. Does anyone think the job of a police officer in Nashville is four or five times tougher or more specialized than what a Marine does in an actual warzone? I sure hope not.

So this is blatant corruption, graft, and extortion, committed by people who claim to "serve and protect" their communities. In reality, they are just greedy hucksters trying to steal as much money from people as they possibly can. And that's how it is in virtually every big city across America.

Civil asset forfeiture is just a legalized form of robbery, committed by people who claim to be protecting us. Police in America are an occupying force more than anything else.

Common

05-01-2018, 06:34 AM

From my experience, private security was hired for private venues. However, if its a public facility like a stadium or field local police still have the responsibility of patrolling and keeping the area secure. Private Security is more for personal security of individuals.

Usually the venue hires police off duty and pays them privately, they were not paid by the city.

donttread

05-02-2018, 03:52 PM

For years, private firms would provide security for special events and venues in Nashville. The greedy Nashville PD, in collusion with corrupt city officials, responded in two ways.

First, the Nashville PD would offer their services to event organizers at a lower rate than their private competitors, causing the private firms to lose the contract. But the Nashville PD would make up the difference by charging the city (taxpayers) for lavish overtime pay.

Secondly, the Nashville PD convinced corrupt city officials to pass a law prohibiting off-duty police officers from working for private security firms. The reason for this is simple: In Nashville, only trained police officers are legally allowed to direct traffic at special events. So if a firm cannot hire off-duty police, then they cannot get a contract for most of the biggest events in Nashville. The only option left to event organizers is to hire the Nashville PD.

As the article notes, some of these officers are collecting salaries in excess of $100,000 a year. This is outrageously excessive. By comparison, a US Marine patrolling the streets of Baghdad or Kabul could expect to make about $20,000 to $30,000 a year. Does anyone think the job of a police officer in Nashville is four or five times tougher or more specialized than what a Marine does in an actual warzone? I sure hope not.

So this is blatant corruption, graft, and extortion, committed by people who claim to "serve and protect" their communities. In reality, they are just greedy hucksters trying to steal as much money from people as they possibly can. And that's how it is in virtually every big city across America.